COVER: Kent Finlay stands in front of the van he drove to Nashville in 1977 with a young, unknown country musician in tow. George Strait recorded a demo on that trip, taking the first steps toward his international music career. MERCURY FILE PHOTO by JAMIE MALDONADO

FROM SUBMITTED REPORTS

A memorial concert for Kent Finlay featuring such songwriters as Marcia Ball, James McMurtry, Kevin and Dustin Welch, and Owen Temple will be held 6:30 p.m. May 10 in Evans Auditorium at Texas State University.

The event is free and open to the public.

Finlay, owner of Cheatham Street Warehouse, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas State and taught a popular course in country music history in the history department in the 1970s and ’80s, and again in the 2000s. Among his first students were George Strait and other members of the Ace in the Hole Band. Finlay passed away March 2.

He was instrumental in the development of the Texas State Center for Texas Music History. Today, the Kent Finlay Endowed Scholarship is presented to an outstanding history student each year.

He established the Cheatham Street Music Foundation, a non-profit music development foundation, and has left an influential legacy on the campus of Texas State as well as in Texas and American music.

2 thoughts on “Texas State to host Kent Finlay memorial concert”

I knew Lent Finlay for a brief time..although I have so many fawn memories of partying at Cheatham St warehouse…getting to meet George Strait, Alvin Crow, and many others, it was a good time…and remembering seeing Lent standing at the bar.. Thank you Lent, for all the ever lasting memories…